Carabela Newsletter #9
Rappi hired a new CFO in preparation for IPO. Nubank to launch telecommunications operator. Amadeus acquires Vision-Box for EUR 320m.
Welcome to this week’s new subscribers! My name is Ghers Fisman, and I send the Carabela Newsletter every Monday to keep you updated with the most important stories in Venture Capital, Startups and Innovation in Ibero-American markets. If you’d like to get in touch, please send me a message to ghersf91@gmail.com or my LinkedIn profile. I’ll be happy to have a chat!
In the week of April 8th to 14th, very interesting news from Latin America’s tech giants were announced: Rappi hired it’s first official CFO (Tiago Azevedo) to prepare for an IPO, and Nubank received regulator approval to launch a new telecommunications company in Brazil, in partnership with Claro. Also, Nu Colombia received a USD 150m to grow its business in the country.
📷 Credits: Rappi
Two double-digit funding rounds were raised by Spanish startups, including Factorial’s EUR 74.5m round and Onum’s USD 20m Series A. In Latin America, the largest rounds were raised by Brazil’s Akad Seguros (USD 22.5m Series A) and Instacarro (USD 10.9m). Colombia’s Habi got a USD 30m loan from the IFC. Smaller rounds were also raised in Brazil (goFlux’s USD 6m and Investidores.vc’s 500k), Spain (Tax Down’s EUR 5m, Exoticca’s EUR 4m, Nymiz’s EUR 2.8m, Kokoro Kids’ EUR 2.25m and Vidext’s EUR 2m), Colombia (Dapta’s USD 1.2m) and Chile (Fraccional’s USD 1m).
There was also one major acquisition in Iberian tech: Amadeus bought biometrics company Vision-Box for EUR 320m. For other ecosystem news, Endeavor Chile launched a scale up acceleration program with 20 startups, and Revolut received approval to constitute as a bank in Mexico.
For more detail of these news (and more), continue reading:
Andes 🇧🇴 🇨🇴 🇪🇨 🇵🇪 🇻🇪
Rappi hired ex-Mercado Libre Tiago Azevedo as CFO, in preparation for an eventual IPO when conditions are right. (Insider Latam)
Nu Colombia received a USD 150m loan to expand its portfolio of products and services in the country. (Nu)
Bogotá proptech Habi raised a USD 30m loan from the IFC, structured by Victory Park Capital Advisors. The funds will be destined to grow Habi’s presence in Colombia and Mexico. (Latam List)
Colombian No-Code platform Dapta raised a USD 1.2m Pre-Seed round led by Fen Ventures and LatinLeap, to fund product development and the company’s expansion in the United States.(Contxto)
Cono Sur 🇦🇷 🇨🇱 🇵🇾 🇺🇾
Santiago-based proptech startup Fraccional raised USD 1m through the crowdfunding platform Broota in less than 2 weeks, to speed up its growth and consolidate Fraccional’s leadership in the digital Real Estate space. (Startups Latam)
Endeavor Chile selected 20 companies for its latest acceleration program, ScaleUp 2024. (Startups Latam)
The Uruguayan Central Bank shut down the operations of Argentinian fintech Wenance in the country, eight months after it was accused of fraud by customers. (Infobae)
Brasil 🇧🇷
Nubank will launch a telecommunications operator in Brazil, in an alliance with Claro, after receiving the regulator’s approval. (Latam Fintech Hub)
São Paulo insurtech Akad Seguros raised a USD 22.5m Series A, in a round co-led by Valor Capital Group and Across Capital. The company will destine the funds to improve its solutions for insurance brokers and partners. (Latam List)
São Paulo’s used car marketplace Instacarro raised USD 10.9m in debt and equity, in a round led by Fasanara Capital. The funds will be used to build Instacarro’s finance arm, expand its dealer-to-dealer sales platform and accelerate growth. (Contxto)
São Paulo-based Fintech goFlux raised a USD 6m Series A led by Capria Ventures. The company plans to expand to Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, mexico and the United States. (Capria Ventures)
Brazilian platform for startup investment Investidores.vc raised a USD 500k round from its investors network, to position the company as a complete ecosystem for investors wanting to diversify in startups. (Startupi)
Iberia 🇵🇹 🇪🇸
Barcelona’s HR Unicorn Factorial raised a EUR 74.5m Venture round from General Catalyst to invest in product development and engineering. (EU-Startups)
Madrid-based Enterprise Software startup Onum raised a USD 28m Series A led by Dawn Capital, for recruitment, product development and global expansion. (Web Capital Riesgo)
Madrid’s tax startup Tax Down raised a EUR 5m investment round led by 4Founders capital, to grow its teams in Spain and Latin America. (Tech EU)
BBVA Spark granted a EUR 4m loan to Barcelona traveltech Exoticca, to allow the startup to finance its Latin American expansion. (El Referente)
Bilbao-based Nymiz, a legaltech helping European companies with GDPR compliance, raised a EUR 2.8m Seed round led by Swanlaab Venture Factory. (Web Capital Riesgo)
Catalan edtech Kokoro Kids raised a EUR 2.25m Grant from the Lego Foundation to grow its educational platform for children with special needs such as Autism or ADHD. (Contxto)
Bilbao’s Video AI platform Vidext raised a EUR 2m Seed round led by 4Founders Capital to fuel the company’s growth. (Capital Riesgo)
Traveltech corporate Amadeus acquired portuguese startup Vision-Box for EUR 320m to expand its presence in the biometrics space. (Amadeus)
Spanish PE fund Qualitas Funds acquired Berlin-based sportech Urban Sports for an undisclosed amount. (Web Capital Riesgo)
México, Centroamérica y Caribe 🇨🇷 🇨🇺 🇩🇴 🇸🇻 🇬🇹 🇭🇳 🇲🇽 🇳🇮 🇵🇦 🇵🇷
British fintech giant Revolut was authorized by the CNMV to constitute as a bank in Mexico, after landing in the country in 2022. (Tekios)
Innogen Capital and the US Government will invest up to USD 3.7m in Salvadorian tech entrepreneurs. (Diario La Huella)
That’s it for today. I hope you enjoyed this edition of the newsletter. Have a great week, and see you next Monday!
If you have any feedback, comments or just want to have a chat, please contact me at ghersf91@gmail.com or my LinkedIn profile, I’ll be glad to hear from you!